The completed Tower cladding (summer 2019)

We were faced with a problem after the demolition of the Tudor block earlier this year. The Tower – part of the original school buildings from 1956 – remained behind. What should we do with the new “end” of the building?

We knew that the exposed brickwork would be covered with cladding, since the walls had originally been internal walls and needed protecting from the elements. We wanted to come up with a simple but eye-catching design to decorate the expanse of white: something which would capture the spirit of Churchill Academy & Sixth Form but which would last; something which clearly showed the Academy’s identity. I knew that the four Houses of Churchill were a key part of this identity…so how could we get the design to reflect this?

The first idea for the Tower was sketched – literally – on the back of an envelope. After that, I superimposed the four stripes, one for each house, onto the architects’ draft plans for cladding the exterior wall using Photoshop.

First version of the Tower design (with scribbles!) rendered in Photoshop

In this initial design, the stripes started in the same place but then separated out. Once they were flipped over, the design made perfect sense: the four separate houses of the Academy, all heading upwards towards a common shared objective. Like our students, they aren’t all the same, but they are all aspiring, growing, climbing. The stripes show our diversity and what we all share. The expanse of white shows what is yet unwritten – and suggests what is possible.

We are delighted with the final design, which was produced and installed by Naked Signs – carefully, painstakingly, by hand – with the help of a huge cherry-picker hydraulic lift. It certainly formed a talking point for the staff and students at the start of term, with some calling them “the superhero stripes” and others instantly recognising the house colours in the pattern. We hope that our Academy community, and visitors, are equally impressed!